Congratulations to Bernard Hopkins. That was exactly how a champion should end his career.

The greatest Philly fighter since Smokin' Joe Frazier took apart Antonio Tarver on Saturday night.

ESPN.com: Hopkins knows how to go out in style

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- This was one doozy of a retirement party for Bernard Hopkins.

The star middleweight ended his boxing career after 18 years and 52 fights with a storybook finish, an upset of light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver.

"I'm done, I'm done, I'm done," he said. "I don't need to risk anything else."

He risked plenty Saturday.

At 41, coming off back-to-back losses, he jumped two weight classes to take on the 175-pound champion in hopes of doing what his idol Sugar Ray Robinson couldn't -- win a light heavyweight title.

The big night for Hopkins started when his sisters, wife and teachers were brought into the ring in a tribute before a video about his career played on the scoreboard. A who's who of Hollywood and pro sports watched from ringside, with announced spectators including Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, Edgerrin James, Queen Latifah and Julius Erving.

Asked by HBO if he would consider coming back for a $20 million payday, Hopkins replied: "I might come out of my grave for that kind of money."

But the fighter, who got his start in boxing while in prison, held the middleweight title for 11 years and finished with a flourish insisted later he was definitely calling it a career.

"I did what I said I was going to do," he said. "I wanted to make history, then move up and fight the winner of Roy Jones and Antonio Tarver. And although I had to fight Taylor one extra time, that's what happened."

A 3-1 underdog, Hopkins thwarted Tarver's jab, attacked him with combinations whenever he tried to get close and controlled the tempo from the opening bell.

Hopkins started slowly in his two losses to Jermain Taylor last year, and was determined not to let that happen again. When the bell rang, he bolted from his corner and met Tarver in the middle of the ring, unleashing a flurry of punches before referee Benjy Estevez separated them.

It was a sign of things to come.

Pestering Tarver like a gnat, Hopkins forced the action and never stood still long enough for Tarver to connect on one of his signature left crosses.

"I felt like in the first round, something was wrong," said Tarver (24-4). "I did not have any answers."

Tarver, who'd agreed to pay $250,000 to a charity of Hopkins' choosing if he didn't knock him out in five rounds or less, needed a miracle in the fifth to avoid paying off. He didn't get it.

Instead, he was the one who went down.

After missing Hopkins with a right, Hopkins (48-4-1) countered with a right lead that caught Tarver flush in the face, knocking him backward. Estevez ruled it a knockdown because Tarver's left glove touched the canvas as he struggled to stay on his feet.

In the seventh, the pro-Hopkins crowd of 10,200 at Boardwalk Hall broke into shouts of "B-Hop! B-Hop! B-Hop!"

Hopkins stayed in control in the later rounds, waiting for Tarver to swing and then unleashing five- and six-punch combinations as he chased him across the ring.

"Tarver definitely is a good puncher," said Hopkins. "I can see why he knocked out Roy (Jones). but I never really gave him a clean target to land his punch."

By the end, Tarver's right eye was nearly swollen shut, and the other one didn't look much better.

The 37-year-old Tarver, who had bulked up to 210 while serving as Sylvester Stallone's on-screen opponent for the upcoming final installment of the "Rocky" series, looked listless and lost. Even when it became clear he'd need a knockout to win, he remained tentative.

"I hope people got their money's worth," he said.